The first artificial leaf

He is a graduate student of the Royal Academy of Art. In this world-class art and design institute, he studied for two years and only made a leaf. But this is the first artificial leaf in human history.

It can breathe spontaneously and work like ordinary leaves, but research shows that its "working" efficiency is improved by 49% compared with ordinary leaves, and all it needs is a little sunshine and water.

Julian Melchiorri, majoring in innovative design engineering, has been devoted to the research of bioactive materials since her undergraduate course. Even after studying as a graduate student in a first-class university, he is not bound by these cold subject knowledge. His concern is always: how to improve our indoor and urban living environment with his own research findings.

When he heard the professor emphasize in class that "by 25, 75% of the world will be urbanized, environmental pollution and overcrowded space will be inevitable, and people's physical and mental health will be seriously affected", he strengthened his mind.

After staying in the laboratory for more than a year, he made a surprise discovery: chloroplasts extracted from plants can be embedded in silk protein by using the stability of silk fiber. This discovery means that he can use silk as a thread and try to make artificial leaves. He called it "Silk Road Leaf Project"

Because he didn't study silk deeply, he cooperated with the Silk Laboratory of Tufts University and successfully developed the structure of silk leaves. Then chloroplasts were extracted from common plants and dripped into silk materials. The final result is a leaf that can breathe completely on its own. "Silk leaf is the first artificial biological leaf. It is lighter and consumes less energy. It is a complete creature." But it produces oxygen more efficiently, and the principle used is known as photosynthesis.

Silk leaves can not only be used to make lamps, but also release oxygen when lighting. They can also be hung on walls and used as TV walls, making the home a natural oxygen bar!

But Julian's "ambition" goes far beyond this. In his vision, street lamps are an excellent carrier. The curtain wall of the building can be used as a filter for the outside air, and people breathe completely fresh oxygen in the building. "With more such green buildings in the city, our living environment will become more sustainable."

Julian's ideal goal is to use this leaf in aerospace engineering. "Because plants don't grow in zero gravity, silk leaves are a good way to make oxygen." Julian Melchiorri imagines that his leaves can help when humans immigrate to Mars in the future. Objectively speaking, Julian's silk leaf technology is not perfect, but no matter how small a dream and little effort, it is possible to make incredible achievements.